The Democratic and Republican Party Platforms from a Science and Technology Policy Lens
Perhaps some of you watched the national conventions of the Republican and Democratic parties this summer. One important but often overlooked activity during these conventions is the platforms of each party. In this article, I discuss the science and technology policy issues addressed in each party’s platform.
My Unexpected Visit During a Democratic National Convention
During my first solo trip to New York City as an engineering student, I unwittingly attended during the same days as the Democratic National Convention. As you might imagine, it was quite an exciting time. The year was 1980 when Jimmy Carter was nominated.
Although Jimmy Carter was well-known as a peanut farmer, he graduated from the Naval Academy, served as an engineering officer on a submarine, and assisted “in the design and development of nuclear propulsion plants for naval vessels.” As president, he continued his interest in alternative forms of energy, including installing solar panels on the White House. The panels, which stayed in place for seven years, even into the Reagan Administration, represented Carter’s vision for an energy future, and he was well ahead of his time on energy policy.
Over the years, I have found that the degree to which presidents care about science and technology is often personal. For President Carter, it was energy; for President George W. Bush, it was innovation and business; and for President Biden, it was cancer research. These priorities do go into party platforms.
What is a political party platform?
In the United States, a political party platform is a formal document that outlines a party’s principles, goals, and policy positions on various issues. It serves as a guide to the party’s priorities and vision for governance.
Although party platforms are supposed to address the collective stance of their members on key issues facing the country, they are typically determined by those in power in the political party at the time. So, Biden and Trump strongly influenced this year's platforms. Because Kamala Harris was a late substitute for President Biden, she and her associates did not have an opportunity to influence the Democratic Party platform.
The platform usually covers a broad range of topics, including economic policy (e.g., taxes, trade, government spending), social issues (e.g., healthcare, education, abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and immigration), foreign policy, energy and environmental policy, and justice and law enforcement.
While party platforms do not have legal authority or bind candidates or officeholders to adhere strictly to them, they can provide interesting insights into party priorities and what will occur should that party’s presidential candidate be elected.
Democratic Party Platform and S&T Policy
This is a very unusual year because Kamala Harris was a late nominee, so her influence over the platform is not apparent. As I previously discussed, Vice President Harris has already evidenced interest in biomedical and climate change research, but what does the Democratic platform say about science, technology, and innovation?
The platform discusses both accomplishments in the Biden Administration and new policies. A note that President Biden is still mentioned as is a second term. I’m only going to focus on the new policies. Here’s a quick rundown of the S&T policy elements of the 2024 Democratic Party Platform approved on Monday, August 19 (all items are direct quotes):
Climate Policy
- “To help find new ways of generating and storing energy, reducing emissions, and boosting climate resilience, we’ll launch an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Climate (ARPA-C), modeled on the defense research agency that’s behind breakthrough technologies like the internet and GPS, and the new ARPA-H that the Administration created to transform medicine.”
- “We’ll also establish a new national lab for climate research and innovation, affiliated with an HBCU, Hispanic-, or other Minority-Serving Institution, to ensure the opportunities of the future are available to everyone, and built by everyone.”
Health Policy
- “[B]ecause the gun violence epidemic is a public health crisis, we will fund gun violence research across the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as community violence interventions.”
- “[A]ppoint leaders at the FDA who respect science.”
Technology Policy
- “We will invest in the AI Safety Institute to create guidelines, tools, benchmarks, and best practices for evaluating dangerous capabilities and mitigating AI risk. We will also prioritize funding for critical AI research and development that advances AI safety.”
- “Building on joint technology initiatives with the European Union, India, Singapore, South Korea, and other partners, . . .promote innovation and shared rules for global technologies.”
There is, of course, a great deal more in the document itself than what I have here. It provides a good overview of Biden Administration activities and a fair amount of bashing of Trump Administration policies.
Republican Party Platform and S&T Policy
Let me say before I start that in the past and today, I have worked and do work with many of what I call “Reasonable Republicans,” who respect science, technology, and innovation. This was particularly true in the passage of the America COMPETES Act, which came out of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report called “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” which was requested by both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders (See Appendix B).
Some Republicans I have worked with have even been scientists, engineers, or health professionals themselves. Many represent districts where there are, for example, many national laboratories or universities that employ a good portion of their constituency. As a result, plenty of Republicans would probably support action related to health policy, climate policy, and innovation policy and would not object to the Democratic Party positions above.
However, this is the Trump era, and perhaps the best that can be said is that former President Trump doesn’t care much about any of the above and is more focused on social policy in general. As a result, when he was President, many S&T policy programs were not touched, probably because few of the S&T political positions were filled and filled very late, and civil servants kept going with the past (Obama) administration policies. S, progress continued to be made in most aspects of S&T policy.
As discussed in this CNN article, which annotates the full platform, it is very Trump’esque with many strong statements, emphasis capitalization, and exclamation points. With that preamble, here are some S&T policies in the Republican Party Platform adopted on July 15, 2024 (all material is quoted):
K-12 Education Policy
- “Republicans will ensure children are taught fundamentals like Reading, History, Science, and Math, not Leftwing propaganda. We will defund schools that engage in inappropriate political indoctrination of our children using Federal Taxpayer Dollars.”
Higher Education Policy
- “Make Colleges and Universities Sane and Affordable: Republicans will fire Radical Left accreditors, drive down Tuition costs, restore Due Process protections, and pursue Civil Rights cases against Schools that discriminate.”
- “To reduce the cost of Higher Education, Republicans will support the creation of additional, drastically more affordable alternatives to a traditional four-year College degree.”
Health Policy
- “Affordable Healthcare: Healthcare and prescription drug costs are out of control. Republicans will increase Transparency, promote Choice and Competition, and expand access to new Affordable Healthcare and prescription drug options. We will protect Medicare, and ensure Seniors receive the care they need without being burdened by excessive costs.”
Energy Policy
- “Common Sense tells us clearly that we must unleash American Energy if we want to destroy Inflation and rapidly bring down prices, build the Greatest Economy in History, revive our Defense Industrial Base, fuel Emerging Industries, and establish the United States as the Manufacturing Superpower of the World. We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL and we will become Energy Independent, and even Dominant again. The United States has more liquid gold under our feet than any other Nation, and it’s not even close. The Republican Party will harness that potential to power our future.”
- “Republicans will revive the U.S. Auto Industry by reversing harmful Regulations, canceling Biden’s Electric Vehicle and other Mandates, and preventing the importation of Chinese vehicles.”
Technology Policy
- “Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World. We will invest in cutting-edge research and advanced technologies, including an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, support our Troops with higher pay, and get woke Leftwing Democrats fired as soon as possible.”
Please note that the Project 2025 report contains more detailed policy positions, which I described in an earlier Forefront article. Trump has denied involvement in, or even reading, the positions outlined in Project 2025, which are more radical than those outlined in the party platform. However, the positions were put together by many people who are likely future political appointees should Trump be reelected.
Do Party Platforms Make a Difference?
One of many lessons I learned during the Obama administration when I served as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology was that campaign promises really do count (at least in that Administration), and it’s also important to hold any Presidential Administration accountable for its promises. So, party platforms DO make a difference by documenting positions initially for those voting or the candidate and the years after when whoever is elected is in office.
This article is from my LinkedIn Inform and Influence S&T Policy Newsletter, which serves as a practical guide to the victories and struggles in Science and Technology Policy and how to make a difference. You can subscribe to it on LinkedIn.
